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Thursday, March 17, 2022

The author's 2010 visit to the US Govt's big HF transmitting station in Ban Dung in Northern Thailand and Surveys HF signals the local afternoon., .

  Homage to first shortwave trans-Atlantic radio broadcast - BBC News

 OVERVIEW

This blog consists of two parts examining elements of HF broadcasting:

1. The results of a HF study made  here in Melbourne by the author on March 12, 2022 across the time span 0400 to 0430

2. A visit by the author to Northern Thailand in June 2010, to survey service effectiveness of Radio Australia in the South Asian region. HF propagation, frequency occupancy

This was in his capacity as a professional engineering consultant for Radio Australia Operations in Melbourne 

======================================================================

PART ONE 

================================================

TThis is a summary of monitoring of March 12 2022. made here in Melbourne, at the big Westerfolds’ Park, in Templestowe on frequencies above 11 MHz during our mid afternoon period across the time span 0400 to 0430. Propagation was dominated by strong daytime sigmas from Asia and the Middle East. 

11745 S ARABIA Arabic 

11780 IRAN Hebrew from *0423 1

1825 JAPAN NHK Yamata Chinese 

11850 CUBA RHC Spanish 11860 S. ARABIA Arabic 

11875 IRAN Turkish at *0423 1

3610 CHINA CNR1 

13740 CHINA CRI-Kashi Hakka 

13790 MADAGASCAR BBC-Talata, Somali 

13850 ARMENIA BBC-Yerevan Dari 

13860 THAILAND R. Azadi, Udon Thani , Pushto 15160 CHINA CR-Xian Cantonese 15130 CHINA CRI-B Chinese 

15170 JAPAN NHK-Yamata Japanese

 15230 CUBA RHC Spanish 

15320 TAIWAN RTI Chinese 

15420 UAE BBC Dhabbaya Somali

15445 CHINA CRI-Kashi Russian

 15500 CHINA CNR2 15550 CHINA CNR7 Cantonese 

15665 CRI-Kashi Russian 

15710 CHINA CNR6 Amoy 

15720 RNZI domestic 

17530 MADAGASCAR WCR Chinese 

17510 CHINA CRI-Xian Hakka 

17565 CRI-B English

 17625 CHINA CNR1

17660 MARIANAS RFA-Agignan Chinse 

17710 CHINA CRI-B Hakka 

17740 CHINA CRI-Xian Vietnamese 

17760 TAIWAN SOH Chinese 

17780 TAIWAN SOH Chinese

 17810 JAPAN NHK-Yamata Japanese 

17865 VOA-Tinang Tibetan 

7890 CHINA CNR1 

21620 PHLS VOA-Tinang Tibetan 

 =======================================================================================

PART TWO
==========================================================
 
Visit to Northern Thailand, June 2010

The USS Govt's large relay station in Udon Thani Province, Northern Thailand.

Map showing site of the station, red balloon,   Very close to Vientiane and Laotian border

Above - aerial view  of the transmitting station - property  perimeter is 12 km. (Google 2022)
  i

In June 2010 I visited the city of Chiang Rai,flying up from Bangkok, in support of an engineering consultancy research project for the Australian Government., and on a tour drove past the entrance of the US Govt's large HF relay station, on a trip through Northern Thailand The facility hosts broadcasts for VoA, Radio Thailand’s international service, VoA’s Radio Ashna, VoA’s Deewa Radio, Radio Farda, Radio Free Asia,Radio Liberty, Radio Mashhaal,, R. Azadi (a.k.a. R. Free Afghanistan), and the Bangkok Meteo Fax service. They all transmit from this site. 

The province escaped the terrible December 26 2004 Indian Tsunami Earthquake which destroyed much of the west 

coast of Southern Thailand.   There is continuing confusion as to the location of she station. Many sources show this at Udon Thani. This is not correct as the capital is also called Udon Thani, a province,  and is the major city within the province. However, the correct location of the transmitting facility is near the village of Ban Dung. .

 

 

 Image above:  ground level view of antenna masts (Google, 2022)

The district is the site of a Voice of America (VOA) relay station, opened in 1994. Voice of America gave the station to Thailand, and was allowed to operate it under a 25-year renewable lease expiring in 2019. Each of the station's seven shortwave transmitters is capable of broadcasting 500 kilowatts of power, covering 40 percent of the earth's surface. One of the transmitters is dedicated for use by Radio Thailand. It has sufficient power to reach the Middle East and the West Coast of the United States, both areas with large expatriate Thai communities.Currently,(2022)  output is reduced to 250 KW for each transmitter

The site is run by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) formerly known as IBB (International Broadcasting Bureau), the technical arm of an independent U.S. Government agency called the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).

 

 

 Image above: Google Earth view of station, 2022

 

The station is about 100 km  by road from Uon Thani City - that's a long bus trip!

The Sangean 808A,  used on all of the Thailand trips

Much of my time  was spent in Rest Areas of National Parks,  in the Thai jungles, near Ban Dung,  having set up a modest receiving station, using a battery-powered portable HF receiver, Sangean 808A, and connected to random antennas tossed into the overhead canopy. This radio is still going strong after all those years, and accompanied me on my many trips in Asia and the Pacific. Picture above in 2022!
 
I  was staying in a swanky Udon Thani hotel), did several bus excursion around the Udon Thani/Chiang Mai areas, visiting sites of tourist and cultural interest including the Elephant Reservation.

I liked Thailand so much that returned there for two further trips:
 
October 2000 - one week stay at Patong on thw west coast, where Ii undertook further t\engineering assessnents of HF spectrum usage, with the Sangean radio. Beautiful beaches and jungle walks!

 
March 2001 - special two-week adventure in Southern Thailand, run by Peregrine, on behalf of the Thai Tourist Authority from Bangkok, which was essentially a training course to develop skills and competencies in planning and managing excursions of individuals or small groups in bushland, coasts, fivers, hills, snorkeling, swimming, canoe  navigation. Our group was small. Only six guests, four of whom bailed out after one day, leaving only two us and our guide. we stayed in basic National Park huts, cabins,bungalows, shared accommodation, with all facilities. Catering was provided at each cabin., My roommate was an 18yo Thai secondary college student.Ananda, who was on the trip as a reward for winning his college best player award in the local Bangkok schools soccer competition for year 2000. (Image at left -  Ananda at Phi Phi Beach)
 
We developed a very close friendship, did everything together - we had a12hr night sleeper train  trip from Bangkok south to Phuket, We were guests of the Phuket  Football (Soccer) Club. It was Ananda's18th birthday during our trip so i got him a pair of dark blue board shorts as a  present in Phi Phi Island Resort.

Our final  destination  was the five star Phuket Hotel and Peregrine donated us an extra day and night;accommodation there to commemorate our completion of the very wearying training course. We were interviewed by the local radio station and newspaper.

We were given lots of adventure-type  merchandise from the footy club, including shorts, shirts, training jackets sunglasses, watches, sox, baseball caps, running shoes, tourist books, and certificates confirming our satisfactory completion of the training course.  We were told that we were the first visitors to  complete the course! Yes, it twas extremely hot  35-40 deg, and oppressive humidity. We made sure that the fridges were will stocked with Thai Ice Cream Rolls and cans of soft drinks!

I had the Sangean portable sw radio with us, but serious HF monitoring was not successful due to extreme atmospheric noise from tropical thunderstorm activity.

October 2000 - one week hotel stay at Patong on the west coast, where I undertook further engineering assessments of HF spectrum usage, with the Sangean radio.
 
 
 
RADIO THAILAND EXTERNAL SERVICES - FULL  SCHEDULE FROM UDON THANI FROM MARCH 27, 2022 - also known as HSK9
 
0000-0030 15590 English 6 deg, for Americas/Asia
0030-0200 15590 Thai  6 deg, for  Americas
0200-0230 15590 English 6 deg Americas
0500-0530 17640 English  6 deg Americas
1000-1030 17850 Thai 305 deg Middle East
1200-1230 9390 English 132 deg Australia/Asia/India 
1230-1245 9390 Vietnamese 132 deg Asia
1245-1300 9390 Oromo 30 deg Asia
 
 
 
                                              RADIO THAILAND Domestic Radio Network
The following link is to an on-line strreaming service of Radio Thailand  93.25 MHz, at Chiang Mai, one  of many local radio broadcasters across in Northern Thailand.
 
 
 
Above - Google road map Udon Thani to transmitting station at Ban Dung.
 
Image  below The main street of Ban Dung - 2022. (Internet)
 
 

THAILAND NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK 2019
 
 
During the annual Thailand National Science Week, held in the week of August 19, 2019,
a total of 468 students from five local schools visited the Udon  Transmitting Station. These are
some of the very same schools that USAGM provides grants to each year, to encourage study in
the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields.(US Govt Media Report) The photos which follow were taken during the school visit.
 
I
Inside the station. Picture taken on a school excursion in the main transmitter hall, August 19 2019. Students learning rigging skills (Internet)
 
 
 Station gardens from main entrance (author visit image June 2010)

 
Inside the station. Picture taken on a school excursion in the main transmitter hall, August 2019 (Internet)

Image above - Inside the station. Picture taken on a school excursion, August 19, 2019. Students learning about equipment testing! (Internet) 
 

 

 Inside the station. Picture taken on a school excursion in August 19, 2019 .Students learning about heavy  lifting techniques by drones (Internet)
 
UDON THANI GALLERY

This section features a selection of 2000 and contemporary (2022) still images and links to Videos, showing the Udon Thani region, a popular tourist destination, and some photos of the station.
 


 

 
 
Radio Thailand celebrated its 88th anniversary in 2018. Image above is ceremony. Below is a link to the media release about the event.
 
 
 
 
For readers who are so inclined, below is a link to a YouTube video "Gay Nightlife in Bangkok". Be warned, this contains naughty commentary
 
 


Flight path Bangkok to Udon Thani
 

 

Above Youtube video of the Kamchanod Forest near Ban Dung town.

  

Above Youtube video of highlights of the Thai Youth Football Championships held in Udon Thani in September 2021. Thailand is obsessed with Soccer.  During our March 2001 adventure, we were guests of the  Phuket Fooball Club and had a training run with some of the players!

Youtube Video of the Kamchanod Forest near Ban Dung town. 

  


 
Above: Youtube Video 2021 of the Nong Prajak Park, in Udon Thani city 
 
  
 
Above: YouTube video 2021 of a drive around the Ban Dung District near the Radio Station 
 
  
The beautiful Thai National Anthem, from a beautiful country.
 

 

THE 2004 EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI 

 On the morning of 26 December 2004, a magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake ruptured along a 1200 kilometre tectonic plate boundary off the west coast of Northern Sumatra and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The tsunami travelled eastward through the Andaman Sea and hit the south-western coasts of Thailand, about 2 hours after the earthquake. Located about 500 km (310 mi) from the epicentre, at the time, the region was popular with tourists because of Christmas. Many of these tourists were caught off-guard by the tsunami, as they had no prior warning. The tsunami hit during high tide. Major locations damaged included the western shores of Phuket island, the resort town of Khao Lak in Phang Nga Province, the coastal provinces of Krabi, Satun, Ranong and Trang and small offshore islands like Ko Racha Yai, the Phi Phi islands, the Surin Islands and the Similan archipelago. Approximately 8,000 people were killed (Wikipedia)

Most of the  places and resorts I had visited in Southern Thailand during 2000 and 2001 were  destroyed, including the national parks, and the towns of  Phuket, Phi Phi. and Patong.The Ban Dung transmitting station was not impacted.

 

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 Youtube video below : A simulation of the Tsunami as it inundated the towns of Phuket and Patong (video created October 2021)